This story is about a young girl called Mary and her father who live in a beautiful little cottage with a lovely garden. The young girl makes friends with a rich young lady from the local estate and gives this lady a basket of flowers as a present for her birthday. In return the young girl is given a beautiful dress. The ladies maid is instantly jealous of the young girl as she had had her eye on that dress herself.
The next morning the rich young lady calls at the cottage to pleed with Mary to return a ring of her mothers. It appears the ring has disappeared and Mary was the only one who could have taken it. Infact the jealous maid remembers seeing Mary looking at the ring and handling it. This of course is not true.
Mary says that she has not taken it. No one believes her and she and her father are thrown in jail. Her father does not survive. Mary is eventually exciled from the area and abandoned to fend for herself. Eventually the ring is found in a magpies nest and the wicked maid punished. Mary is restored to her little cottage and given everything she could desire.
Throughout the book Mary is the perfect picture of Christian forgiveness and fortitude. The whole story is one that shows the beauty of a simple kind hearted nature. It shows how a heart that does not give itself over to biterness and envy is more beautiful than any flower. The comparison between the envious young maid and the sweet natured Mary is quite striking.
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